BABYLONIAN LITERATURE. 39 



he attempts to deny the identity of Armisa 

 and Hermes. Armisa was a sage of Ba- 

 bylon ; and, indeed, Armisa is represented 

 in many Sabian traditions as a Chaldsean 

 philosopher. But nothing can be deduced 

 from that circumstance. The Hermesian 

 books were accepted by all the East, and at 

 Babylon as if their second country ; it was 

 from them that the Arabs derived all their 

 traditions respecting Hermes ; and this ex- 

 plains the singular transfer by means of 



Trismegister as their countrymen ("Journal Asiatique," March- 

 April, 1854, p. 263). Now the works attributed by Ibn-Abi- 

 Oceibia to this Hermes are astrological. Besides, Ibn-Abi-Oceibia 

 connects Hermes Trismegister with the Babylonians and the Har- 

 ranians (ibid. August-Sept. 1854, pp. 185, 187, 189, 191, 192). I 

 find in the Kitab thabacat al-umen of Said (p. 20, 21 of M. 

 Schefer's manuscript) the following passage, where Hermes is 

 represented as a modern Babylonian sage, contemporary with 

 Socrates, and devoting his life to revising and correcting the 

 writings of his predecessors : 



J- 



^^ -^ I -^ 



This is in accordance with various legends in which Hermes is con- 

 nected with Babylon. Hermes appears again in the chapter on 



Egypt. 



